The International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice president, who is in charge of the postponed Tokyo Olympics, has said that the showpiece event will be held as per schedule even if the host city and other regions of Japan are under a state of emergency due to Covid pandemic.
John Coates, speaking from Australia in a virtual news conference with Tokyo organisers at the end of three days of meetings, said this would be the case even if local medical experts advised against holding the Olympics.
“The advice we have from the WHO (World Health Organization) and all other scientific and medical advice that we have is that — all the measures we have outlined, all of those measures that we are undertaking are satisfactory and will ensure safe and secure Games in terms of health,” Coates said.
“And that’s the case whether there is a state of emergency or not,” he added.
Significantly, a majority of people in Japan want the games to be postponed as the country has witnessed a surge in Covid-19 in the recent days.
Few days back, a doctors’ body in Tokyo had urged for the cancellation of the upcoming Olympics saying that hospitals in the host nation are overwhelmed due to a surge in Covid-19 cases in Japan.
Notably, the Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed last year due to the pandemic, is slated to be held between July 23 and August 8 of the ongoing year.
“We strongly request that the authorities convince the IOC (International Olympic Committee) that holding the Olympics is difficult and obtain its decision to cancel the Games,” Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association in an open letter to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had said.